Reduced

two beggars

befriend me
for twenty
bucks apiece
every week.

telling stories
give cause
and rationale
for lies
that pay.

witness creativity,
both bring
me joy
and laughter,
friendship stuff.

one man
one woman
both smiling
love me,
use me.

others advise
stop funding
continued failure
for friends
I love.

how different
are "respectable"
friends who
do the
same things?

mercy, Lord
dear Lord
open me
to life,
their life.

Funding homeless people?

A friend of mine sent me the video that follows.  

Watch the video, read the commentary and then check in below for my reactions.

To give money to the homeless or to not give money to the homeless? It's an age-old quandary that an Oregon nonprofit may have solved.

Sanctity of Hope, a Portland organization, has invented a new currency for homeless people. Donors buy tokens from the nonprofit, dole them out to people living on the streets and they can then be exchanged at stores for food and other goods they might need, according to KATU.

This innovative system allows do-gooders the opportunity to give to the homeless, without worrying how they will spend the cash, and it also pushes panhandlers to spend their money wisely.

It's a model that would let donors breathe easy, especially considering stories we've seen lately about some less-than-honest panhandlers.

The people of Lexington, Ky., for example, were horrified last month when they learned that Gary Thompson, a beggar who had been getting around in a wheelchair and speaking with a slurred speech, was neither homeless, nor disabled, LEX18 reported. The story became even more disturbing when Thompson revealed to reporters that he earns about $100,000 a year.

Sanctity of Hope's token system could potentially reduce such scams.

We choose to donate money based on the level of perceived need, Derek Thompson wrote in the Atlantic in 2011. Beggars known this, so there is an incentive on their part to exaggerate their need, by either lying about their circumstances or letting their appearance visibly deteriorate rather than seek help.

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So, short of a "token" system like this one in Portland, what is one to do when a person on the street asks for money?  (BTW--I don't think many Dallas merchants would want to entertain more of the homeless in their places of business.  I hope I am wrong, but my experience tells me that I'm probably not.)

Here are my random observations:

1)  The question is really hard to answer in just one way.  Not every homeless person is the same, nor are their circumstances.  And, it takes time to learn, to discover the reality the person asking for help is facing.  

2)  If I have a relationship with a person, if I know the person, if we have some "history," I am more inclined to help out.  Or, for the same reasons, I may be less inclined.  The person I know, like Penny for example, may be really needing a few bucks for food, a bus pass or toiletries.  If so, I'll help out.  But, for a guy like Buck, I know he's headed for another night of drunken stupor.  Why invest in that?  Who does that help?  But in either case I have some basis for deciding what's best.  That all takes time.

3) I often surprise homeless persons by initiating the conversation myself.  To approach a homeless person and begin a conversation changes the dynamics of the entire interchange.  It's as if the surprise factor drives all of "the game" out of the encounter.  Honesty can pave the way for some really helpful decisions and discussions. 

4)  Honestly, sometimes my emotions dictate my decision.  That's probably not a good thing, but it is true and real.  The fact is I often don't know what to do.  

5) Above all, I try to pay attention to my heart and to how these encounters affect my inner life.  I find it hard spiritually to turn away from another person.  That means I need to do something with every request.  The worst thing for me is to ignore the person who asks.  I've done it, but it never feels right.  So in almost every case, I have to give the person who asks me my attention, as well as my honest answer.  

What are your ideas?

The disconnect of "No!"

Last Friday evening, just after I stepped onto the Red Line train to North Dallas, a homeless man approached my area of the car with a cup in his hand.

"Can you spare me a little change, brother," he asked the fellow standing just in front of me.

The guy ignored the beggar, so, he moved to me.

I saw him coming, in more ways than one, so I greeted him and exchanged a lively handshake.

"So, where are you staying?" I asked.

I heard the word "bridge," and assumed he meant The Bridge, Dallas' new homeless assistance center Downtown.

"Oh, you're at The Bridge," I followed.

"No, man," he responded, "The Bridge is too crowded and they won't let us stay there. Me and my old lady live under the bridge," he explained. "I'm trying to get about seven bucks to buy us some dinner."

"Oh, I see," I replied.

"Can you spare me some change," my new friend pressed--he had the rest of the train to work and needed a decision from me.

I dropped the change I had in my pocket from the train ticket vending machine into his paper cup.

"Thanks, brother, God bless you," he said with a huge toothless smile.

As he shuffled down the aisle, looking for others to approach, I began to think about the impact of a "No."

People ask me all of the time, "What should I do about panhandlers on the street?"

I gotta tell you, I don't have a clue. I understand all of the arguments on both sides. And, I have no consistent position or track record in terms of how I respond. At times, I give freely. At other times I have turned away with a short "No," or worse, I have simply pretended not to see or to hear.

But, as I rode the train up the rail without the burden of navigating the heavy traffic, I thought about the power and the nature of "No" when spoken to another human being.

"No" is about judgment.

"No"--there is no possible way that verdict can be endearing, connecting or anything but total rejection in a moment.

"No," especially, I think, in a chance encounter does not help any one.

I have no answer for the gentleman who approached me Friday night as we cut through the growing darkness of a busy city. I don't understand how he got to the place in life that his best option is begging on a commuter train and sleeping under a freeway bridge. I have no brilliant intervention to offer. I have no chance to really do much with him.

But it occurs to me that "No" is not what he needed to hear, and it's not what I needed to say.

As I was lost in my thoughts, the train made a stop.

Another homeless man boarded. He carried a large, thick, well-used study Bible of some variety. A backpack attached to his back, he struggled to unfold and to count a wad of dollar bills that he clutched in his hands. I suppose he had made his supper money for the evening. He asked for nothing as he settled into the ride north.

I wondered how many "No" verdicts he had dealt with before collecting the treasure that would make his night a bit less harsh.

For a personal perspective provided by a homeless young man from the streets of Denver on the whole matter of how it feels to encounter rejection on the streets, take a look here.

(Matthew 5:42--Jesus)

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